Fantasy strategy for Week 15: Get into your playoff opponent's head

If your opponent has Packers running back Eddie Lacy (hip injury), you can engage in a little gamesmanship by picking up James Starks.

If your opponent has Packers running back Eddie Lacy (hip injury), you can engage in a little gamesmanship by picking up James Starks. (Jeff Hanisch / USA Today Sports)

Fantasy strategy: Playing mind games with your opponent

Sportsmanship is for football players. Psychological warfare is for fantasy football players.

Don't get me wrong, you want to win your league's championship without resorting to underhanded tactics like, I don't know, asking to borrow your rival's smartphone for a sec so you can change his or her starting lineup with the league app. Because that would be wrong.

Short of impersonating your league's commissioner, there are a few things you can do to play mind games with your playoff opponent.

1. The last-minute lineup change

Change your lineup about 30 minutes before kickoff Sunday. For the your opponent, there's nothing more jarring in fantasy football than seeing that sudden swap from Jeremy Maclin to Alshon Jeffery. If that person is more than just a casual fantasy hobbyist, it's almost reflexive to hop online and investigate: "Why did she make the switch? What does she know?"

You really mess with their heads if the other owner has the receiver's quarterback ("If something's wrong with Maclin, maybe I should sit Mark Sanchez.") It works the other way around, too. ("If he thinks Sanchez is a good play, then I don't want to miss out if he throws to Maclin.")

You might even revert to your original lineup five minutes before kickoff. The goal is get your opponent to bog down in second-guessing.

2. The "congratulatory" phone call

Along the same lines, you might engage in a little subliminal sabotage masked as a "best of luck" phone call or text. Start off with the niceties about meeting in the playoffs, and then, "Oh, by the way, are you not concerned about playing Ben Roethlisberger on the road? You know the Steelers have had a lot of problems away from Heinz Field." The very word "road" becomes a brainworm that nags and gnaws until your opponent actually considers sacrificing Roethlisberger's Falcons matchup for Philip Rivers' home game against the Broncos.

Following the Chicago Bears’ eighth loss of the season, a 41-28 drubbing by the Dallas Cowboys at Soldier Field on Dec. 4, Aaron Kromer’s frustration bubbled over. Disappointed in a season’s worth of offensive inconsistency and clearly bothered by the lack of productivity from quarterback Jay Cutler...

3. The Trojan Horse

Drop a player who has an undesirable matchup, but only if you know there's no chance you'd start him. The trick is, the player's position has to serve an area where you opponent is weak (for example, one of their running backs got injured recently) and the player has to be alluring enough for your opponent to pick him up off waivers and possibly start him. You're trying prey on his or her roster insecurities.

Some candidates would be: Bishop Sankey (RB, Titans), Doug Martin, (RB, Buccaneers), Shane Vereen (RB, Patriots), Terrance Williams (WR, Cowboys), Charles Clay (TE, Dolphins) and Colin Kaepernick (QB, 49ers). Sure, any of them could break out of their slumps -- that's what makes them bait -- but it's more likely they would waste a roster spot.

4. The block

You grab a player that your opponent needs or may need before they can get them. It could be the backup to a gimpy running back or a quarterback who has a better matchup than their regular starter. An old friend and former fantasy football mentor used to call this maneuver "cutting somebody's supply line."

Here's an example: Your opponent has Jaguars running back Denard Robinson, who has been ruled out for Sunday's game at the Ravens, but it's unlikely he wants to start Toby Gerhart, not with Daniel "Boom" Herron on the waiver wire. You swoop in a claim Herron and let him sit on your bench because your running backs are stacked. He won't help you, but he can't hurt you, either.

Another example would be Packers backup running back James Starks. Eddie Lacy (hip) was listed as probable Friday, but he has been a limited participant in practice all week.